États-Unis d'Amérique

Royaume-Uni

Droit d'auteur et droits connexes

1. Please explain whether and how the United Kingdom's law provides protection for works, phonograms and performances from other WTO Members, and whether and how it does so on the basis of national treatment, as required by TRIPS Article 3 (generally, with respect to all copyrights and neighbouring rights) and Article 9.1 (incorporating Berne Article 5(1)). In particular, please indicate how national treatment is afforded with respect to the distribution of levies for private copying under Article 44 of the Copyright Act.

In respect of copyright and those related rights provided for in Section 1 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement, copyright works (and in UK law phonograms are treated as a category of copyright work) from other countries and foreign performances are given the same protection as works and performances of UK origin thus satisfying the national treatment requirements of Articles 3 and 9.1. UK copyright law is applied to works from other countries by orders made under Section 159 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; performers from countries designated in orders made under Section 208 of that Act enjoy protection in respect of their performances. The Copyright (Application to Other Countries) (Amendment) Order 1995 (SI 1995 No. 2987) and the Performances (Reciprocal Protection) (Convention Countries) Order 1995 (SI 1995 No. 2990) made under these Sections respectively gave effect to the UK's obligation to other WTO countries from 1 January 1996 where these obligations were not already met by existing Orders implementing the UK's obligations under other international copyright conventions or otherwise. UK copyright law has no provisions relating to the distribution of levies for private copying.